The future of the web: Google

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Google's Larry Page has closed more projects, including Knol, a challenger to Wikipedia, the online encyclopediaBloomberg via Getty Images

Murad AhmedTechnology Reporter

Last updated at 12:01AM, November 24 2011

The problem with Google, thought Larry Page, the company’s new chief executive, was that it had become big but was thinking small.

So, after taking over the top job in April, Mr Page began to shake things up. He has slashed the number of projects. He has taken significant gambles such as buying the handset maker Motorola for $12.5 billion (£8 billion), which could transform the company into a hardware manufacturer. He has also tweaked Google’s unique working policies, lauded by management consultants but which he believes are dated.